Global markets have entered into a process of transformation of their business activities, companies demand day by day a higher quality and speed from their service providers and at a lower cost.
Companies have to orient their strategies to complete customer service but without detracting from their internal operations, such as decision-making.
Decision support systems allow to establish clear criteria on the orientation that their business strategies should follow and the re-definition that they require based on market behavior.
It enables decision makers to have a global spectrum of the state of their business operations and how they can be optimized to achieve increased productivity.
The impact that these types of systems have on SMEs is of great relevance, it gives them the opportunity to bring their business operations to a level of quality and productivity in which they can compete with large organizations, integrating with other business environments In a comprehensive platform, it enables them to extend their commercial limits and to carry out their operational activities in a more strategic way. This is an opportunity that SME managers should visualize and include in their short-term strategies.
Introduction
Global markets have entered into a process of transformation of their business activities, companies demand day by day a higher quality and speed from their service providers and at a lower cost.
Companies have to orient their strategies to complete customer service but without detracting from their internal operations, such as decision-making.
Today's globalization has put pressure on companies to search for new markets, new customers, new suppliers and, above all, to integrate all these elements into a global business infrastructure that facilitates their operational activities.
Decision-making, in the business world, is one of the most delicate aspects due to the risks assumed and the continuity with which they are carried out.
To the above we can add that in order to carry out this decision-making, a large amount of information has to be analyzed and all the variables that come into play must be considered.
The context of SMEs
Information means power, companies that visualize this idea will have competitive advantages.
Now, in this context, information must be available in a timely manner for effective decision-making at the time required, which is why companies that enter this globalization process must have the mechanisms To manage all the information of their business operations, the above for SMEs is an opportunity to boost their productivity and competitive development.
SMEs have entered the globalization process where the competitive demands are enormous.
Information systems support business operations to a great extent, but they have a deficiency in the exploitation of that information for effective decision-making, it can be considered that this small stage of re-using their information resources is necessary to increase the competitiveness and productivity of your business areas.
The information systems commonly used by SMEs are not totally related, the business areas share the information of their business operations in a manual way and which can consume many resources.
Decision-making in SMEs usually lacks comprehensive information mechanisms to support these activities.
To be profitable and competitive day after day, quarter after quarter, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) must manage their operations efficiently and profitably while meeting the challenges faced by SMEs.
Currently the highest percentage of SMEs is carrying out their operational activities in an isolated manner with their different supply chains, their information systems are disconnected from the different business areas, the above complicates to a certain degree effective decision-making, by requiring a great deal of time and effort to integrate all this information.
The lack of a comprehensive platform where all business activities are carried out, where suppliers and clients exchange information and allow effective collaboration with all business areas delays the competitive development of SMEs.
The impact that these types of systems have on SMEs is of great relevance, it gives them the opportunity to bring their business operations to a level of quality and productivity in which they can compete with large organizations, integrating with other business environments In a comprehensive platform, it enables them to extend their commercial limits and to carry out their operational activities in a more strategic way. This is an opportunity that SME managers should visualize and include in their short-term strategies.
Strategic Aspects
Decision support systems are basically computer systems that combine a series of models and information to help solve problems that involve a number of variables and an extensive analysis of information.
Strategically for SMEs, decision-making support systems have an impact on the way they carry out their business operations, allow raising the quality of decision-making, allow greater communication in their business areas, have a huge impact on cost reduction, higher productivity and customer satisfaction.
This type of system allows you to establish clear criteria on the orientation that your business strategies should follow and the re-definition that they require based on market behavior.
It enables decision makers to have a global spectrum of the state of their business operations and how they can be optimized to achieve increased productivity.
These types of systems were considered only for large organizations, but due to the development of technologies, small organizations such as SMEs can adopt this type of decision support systems to integrate all their business operations with their customers and service providers. In such a way, they can carry out comprehensive business strategies, share information between business areas and with their entire supply chain.
The complexity in the management of business operations forces executives and decision makers in SMEs to use information as one of the basic elements to support the definition of business strategies, which is why they must to have the tools and mechanisms for the optimal definition and application of these strategies.
In this context, the executive transforms the information into action, this circumstance being of such importance that the information is considered an asset of the company and one of the main components of what is called Business Intelligence.
Economic Aspects
Investments in technological aspects for SMEs are considered in the first instance as an expense rather than an investment, but let's analyze this in a more profound way.
Companies should consider that those who have control over the information they handle in their companies can support strategic initiatives in a timely manner, make their budgeting activities add value to the productivity of the company, in short, they have a greater advantage over the competing companies.
The costs in the decision-making support systems should be considered as an investment that will bring great benefits, such as, for example, opening to new markets, new customers, suppliers with better levels of quality in their services, lower costs in their operational and logistics activities, trend monitoring in the markets to name a few.
SMEs must be attentive to technological changes in the new work tools for their production, their commercialization and integration into their business operations that allow increasing productivity and competitiveness, even when the above has an economic cost.
Today the main providers in decision support systems offer comprehensive solutions for SMEs with very low costs for their implementation and acquisition, which a few years ago this was not possible to do.
It is essential for SMEs to incorporate these decision support systems to adapt to new times, remain competitive in the globalized business environment and enter new markets.
SMEs need to join these technological environments that help to have greater efficiency in their operational activities, better services to their customers and suppliers, information support at different management levels, flexibility to obtain results, share information in the different areas of business of the company, substantial savings in time and human resources for information processing in decision making.
conclusion
Decision-making is an activity that involves various informational and environmental elements of the business, it is an activity with a high level of complexity on which the future of an organization will depend, which is why the performance of this type of activities should be carried out carried out with as many elements as possible (informative sources) that reduce the risk of failure.
I believe that this type of system is an essential requirement that all SMEs must meet if they want to increase their productivity and competitive development. The information provides, to all organizations, the power to establish and redefine their business strategies according to the variants presented by the global business environments.
SMEs are currently in a process of adaptation and knowledge about the advantages that decision support systems provide.
The percentage of these companies that have decided to take the step of adopting these technologies is very small. I believe that this percentage will gradually increase with technological advance, the decrease in the cost of implementation and the globalized development of business.
Bibliography
Turban, E., Aronson JE, Liang T. (2005). Decision Support Systems and Intelligent Systems. Prentice Hall. Seventh Edition. ISBN 0-13-046106-7.
Garza Ruiz Oscar Luis, decision support systems an option for SMEs
Bañuelos Alvarez, Víctor Manuel, The need for DSS in SMEs, Business Solutions.
Francisco Chávez, Decision Support System, W. Palazuelos Jorge, Technology decision support systems available to SMEs
Vázquez, Raúl (2002). SMEs and the technological vanguard in information systems.
Arzate, Omar (2002), Use of Decision Support Systems in Mexican Companies
Salom, G. and Shulterbrandt, S. (2002). Microenterprises, SMEs and Latin America
Rivera, Manuel (2001). DSS, impact on the decision-making process
